Black Mask Studios has launched a Kickstarter campaign for General Strike, a new comic book anthology that seeks to benefit striking Hollywood workers.
General Strike is a 48-page one-shot dedicated to “the struggle for economic equality.” The project spins out of writer Matteo Pizzolo‘s dystopian comic book series Calexit. Pizzolo is joined on General Strike by two comic book legends: Miles Morales co-creator Brian Michael Bendis and All-Star Superman writer Grant Morrison.
A number of film and television writers are contributing to the comic as well. These include Judalina Neira (The Boys, Gen V, The Flash), Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, The Boondocks), Tamara Becher-Wilkinson (Doom Patrol, Daredevil), Jeff Perreca (Bury_Me), Charley Feldman (X-Men ’97, Teen Titans Go!), and Daniel Dominguez (Seis Manos, Spongebob Squarepants, gen:LOCK) — all of whom (like Pizzolo, Bendis, and Morrison) are members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
The story artists contributing to General Strike include Jamal Igle (BLACK, The Wrong Earth), Josh Hood (We Can Never Go Home), Antonio Fuso (Something Is Killing the Children: House of Slaughter), Ryan Kelly (DMZ), Butch Mapa (Star Wars Adventures, Spider-Gwen), and Michael Avon Oeming (Powers). Meanwhile, the anthology’s cover artists include Tyler Boss, Elisa Romboli, Ben Templesmith, Ramon Villalobos, Creees Lee, Iolanda Zanfardino, and The Boys co-creator Darick Robertson.
General Strike is about fighting the good fight
“That’s right! A gang of striking writers made a comic book for you during The Great WGA Strike of 2023 and it’s AWESOME!” General Strike’s Kickstarter page reads. “Brought to you by the mad scientists behind the CALEXIT comic, GENERAL STRIKE is a set of badass genre stories about FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT! … ‘But isn’t the strike over??’ We’re launching on the heels of a major victory for the WGA with this tentative deal … and, for that, THIS COMIC IS A CELEBRATION!”
Furthermore, while it’s true that the WGA strike has come to a close, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is still on the picket line. “The creative community is still struggling!” the Kickstarter page reads. “People are still losing their homes! And the Strike Funds need to be ready because The Animation Guild, IATSE, and The Teamsters may need help next! … So please join us in CELEBRATING VICTORY WHILE SUPPORTING THE NEXT WAVES!”
On that note, the team behind General Strike will “use any profits to match the writing fees with contributions to the Entertainment Community Fund,” which not only benefits writers and actors, but also crew members and other workers affected by the strikes. The stories contained within the one-shot are hosted by none other than Gen. Strike herself — a new character billed as a cross between the Crypt Keeper, Vampirella, and Tank Girl.
General Strike has already blown past its initial Kickstarter goal of $2,800. At the time of writing, the anthology has raised $6,874 from 161 backers. The campaign concludes on Friday, October 20.
